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Josh Sawyer (born October 18, 1975), is an American video game designer , known for his work on role-playing video games .

Early life and education

Sawyer grew up in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin , and is the son of Linda Sawyer and sculptor Gerald P. Sawyer. [2] He is of German ancestry. [3] He earned a BA degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin . In addition to being a history major, Sawyer participated in the theater (including mounting a production of Assassins ). After Lawrence, Sawyer moved to California .

Career

Starting as a web designer at Black Isle Studios in 1999, he quickly worked on an associate position and then lead designer on Icewind Dale II . [4] [5] While at Black Isle, he was known for coming up with the “Ex-Presidents” project naming system.

In November 2003 Sawyer announced his departure from Black Isle, where he had been serving as lead designer of Fallout 3 , to pursue other projects. [6] Interplay went on to close Black Isle two weeks after Sawyer’s departure. [7]

On July 19, 2005, GameSpot reported that he had left Midway’s Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows , and was accepted to position at Obsidian Entertainment , a studio founded and staffed by many veterans of Black Isle. His first role was the lead designer for Neverwinter Nights 2 . [8]

He later became the director and lead designer of Fallout: New Vegas . In December 2011 Sawyer is a new version of the game that has been released in New Vegas . [9] As of November 2012, this is up to version 5.1 which was released in September 2012. [10]

He also served as project director and lead designer on the Aliens RPG . [11] Publisher SEGA subsequently canceled the result at layoffs at Obsidian. [12] According to Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart , the game – titled Aliens: Crucible [13] – “looked and felt like it was ready to ship”. [14] [15]

In 2012, with a publisher, Sawyer proposed the company returns to its design roots by making an isometric RPG in the style of those created at Black Isle. Arguing there was a market for this type of game among fans, Sawyer suggests turning to the platform Kickstarter to secure funding for development without a publisher. He succeeds in persuading company leadership, and the game – then called Project Eternity – puts its Kickstarter funding goal of $ 1.1 million in 27 hours. It was nearly $ 4 million, setting a Kickstarter record. [16] [17]

Sawyer went on to serve as director and design lead on this title, which was renamed Pillars of Eternity for release. [18]